Two longtime buddies accidentally travel back in time to 2008 while trying to book a gig at the Rivoli music venue.
Nirvanna the Band the Show, which is probably unfamiliar to UK audiences, is now getting the movie treatment.
Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol made their debut as slackers Matt and Jay (fictionalised versions of themselves) in the mockumentary web series, Nirvanna the Band the Show, from 2007 to 2009 and brought them back for a TV series between 2017 and 2018.
Based on the web and TV series, this mockumentary feature follows Matt and Jay as they try to fulfil their lifelong dream of performing at the Rivoli, a trendy Toronto music venue.
The duo have been trying to play a gig there since 2008, and it’s now 2025, and they have yet to achieve their goal.
They keep coming up with publicity stunts – such as jumping off the CN Tower – to make it happen, and Jay has finally given up, planning to strike out on his own as he believes the klutz Matt is holding him back.
However, when he takes off in their RV, he does not realise Matt is in the back or that it’s been rigged to travel through time when it reaches a certain speed, like in Back to the Future, so they accidentally end up back in 2008.
According to the laws of time-travel movies, characters should not change anything or interact with their younger selves because it could cause a butterfly effect and irrevocably change things in the future.
But this is a comedy after all, and our characters are silly goofballs, so of course they break this rule.
Using previously unseen footage from their web series and impressive editing, the current Matt and Jay interact with the 2008 Matt and Jay – the results of which are discovered when they return to 2025.
The film was shot without professional cameras, sound or lights, so it looks like a lo-fi, DIY project – until they pull off major-scale stunts like the CN Tower jump and utilise surprisingly decent visual effects for the time travel moments.
Like Sacha Baron Cohen in Borat, Johnson and McCarrol filmed the movie out and about in Toronto without permits or notifying the public in advance.
You get to see them interacting with unsuspecting members of the public and hilarious shots of people’s quizzical reactions.
Johnson, who wrote and directed the film, and McCarrol, who wrote and composed it, are delightful as these long-time slacker besties and improvise scenarios and dialogue like the professionals they are. But their dynamic cannot save the concept from running out of steam in the second half.
Existing fans of the shows will certainly get more out of the movie than newcomers, however, those entering this world for the first time will still find themselves very entertained.
In cinemas from Friday 3rd July
By Hannah Wales
© Cover Media